SMEs recognised as Highways Agency awards its supply chain

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) comprised a quarter of the winners at the Highways Agency’s Supplier Recognition Scheme.

The annual recognition scheme highlights the vital contribution made by the Agency’s suppliers who help it operate, maintain and improve England’s network of motorways and A roads.

This year entries for the awards increased significantly – as 118 bid for the honour to receive public recognition from the Agency across seven categories.

These included the extended supply chain and small and medium enterprises – of which three won awards in the managing down cost and promoting diversity and inclusion categories.

Meanwhile the new safety, health and wellbeing category proved an overwhelming success as three suppliers picked up awards and five others were highly commended for their work towards improving road user and road worker safety.

Graham Dalton, chief executive of the Highways Agency, said: “This year our recognition scheme received more than double the number of entries compared to last year – that is simply fantastic.

“It’s also a strong indication of the steps our suppliers have made in bringing innovation into the workplace. I find it truly heartening that at a time when the safety of our road workers is of paramount importance, there were three companies besides the winner worthy of a high commendation in that category.”

Categories, winners and highly commended as follows:

Building and sustaining capability – awarded to suppliers that have developed their employees’ skills and capabilities through delivery of Highways Agency contracts.

Awarded to: Costain for their engagement with skills and employment organisations that led to apprentices and young staff being recruited for the M1 junctions 28-31 smart motorway scheme.

Highly commended: Carillion Civil Engineering

Customer experience – awarded to suppliers that have demonstrated industry leading commitment to customer service.

Awarded to: Carillion Civil Engineering for their work to involve the local community during the A23 Handcross to Warninglid scheme including visits to schools and providing public liaison 24 hours a day;

Costain for their proactive engagement with customers, stakeholders and communities during the M1 junctions 28 -31 smart motorway scheme.

Highly commended: Mouchel (designer) and Carillion (delivery partner)

Delivering sustainable value and solutions – awarded to suppliers that have integrated environmental, social, economic and management aspects of sustainable development into the delivery of Highways Agency contracts.

Awarded to: Interserve Construction for their work on an ambitious sustainability framework and action plan which goes beyond 2020.

Highly commended: Costain Group; Sir Robert McAlpine and AW Jenkinson

Safety, health and wellbeing – awarded to suppliers that show industry leading commitment to improving organisational, workforce and road user health and safety.

Costain (road users aspect) for a series of site measures and safety initiatives including targeting driver behaviour through the use of personal messages from the children of road workers;

Skanska Construction UK (road workers aspect) for its efforts to improve road worker safety collaboratively including the construction of a simulated motorway for emergency services and workers as part of incident management exercises.

Promoting diversity and inclusion – awarded to suppliers that have created opportunities to bring people into the workplace, developed skills and created an environment where differences are valued and utilised.

Awarded to: EM Highway Services and Recycling Lives for being involved in a host of projects to attract people into the sector and develop them as well as a series of measures supporting a culture of inclusion.

Awarded to: The Collaborative Procurement Working Group (CPWG) – Carillion, BAM/Morgan Sindall, Costain, Balfour Beatty, Asset International, Polypipe and Saint Gobain for their joint work to overcome a shortage of temporary barrier and avoid delays by implementing effective strategies through the supply chain.